22 April 2019 - KRIS FRANCOEUR - GUEST AUTHOR

Today, I interview an author from Vermont, U.S.A, who is surrounded by all sorts of animals.

Welcome, Kris ...

1.TELL US A LITTLE
ABOUT YOURSELF AND YOUR WRITING JOURNEY.

My name is Kris Francoeur, and I am a public school
educator and writer living in Vermont, USA. I always wrote stories, even as a
child, but didn’t really think about trying to get them published until I was
in my twenties. Then, our middle son Sam was born, and he would not take a nap
as a baby, but he would take some quiet time each afternoon. While he rested, I
would write stories, which then became novels. Over time, I started submitting
them to agents and publishers, got rejected a lot, would put it aside, and
eventually, I would start writing again.

In 2013, Sam died of an accidental drug (opioid) overdose.
Sam was one of the biggest supporters of my writing dream, and after his death,
I wanted to honor his belief in my writing. So I hired a great editor, started
submitting my novels again, and eventually signed publishing contracts on three
romance novels. All three novels (The
Phone Call, That One Small Omission
and More Than I Can Say) have now
been published by Solstice Publishing.

Following Sam’s death, I posted daily on social media about
my grief journey. Over time, many people asked me to turn those posts into a
book. My memoir, Of Grief, Garlic and
Gratitude was signed by Morgan James Publishing, the e-book has released,
and the print version will be in stores in May 2019.

2.WHEN AND HOW DID YOU
BECOME A WRITER?

My first published novel came out on
October 9, 2017.

3.WHAT TYPE OF PREPARATION DO YOU DO FOR A
MANUSCRIPT? DO YOU PLAN EVERYTHING FIRST OR JUST SHOOT FROM THE HIP?

It depends on what I am writing. For my
novels, usually they start with either a dream, or something I see around me,
and they just flow. Sometimes the characters make decisions or take paths I try
to change, and they seem to have a mind of their own.

For my memoir, I mapped out the 30 month
time frame covered, and built it very systematically.

In both types of writing, I work with
two great editors. One can be brutal in her assessments, the other is much more
gentle, but together, they push me to write as well as I can.

4.WHAT DO YOU ENJOY
MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

In fiction, I love seeing where the
stories go. In non-fiction, I love hearing about how my work impacts other
people.

5.WHAT IS THE HARDEST
THING ABOUT BEING A WRITER?

I love writing, absolutely adore
editing, but get frustrated with some of the marketing, social media, etc. that
seems to be necessary to promote your works.

6.WHAT WERE YOU IN A
PAST LIFE, BEFORE YOU BECAME A WRITER?

A mother, wife, daughter, grandmother,
alpaca farmer, spinner (alpaca fiber), gardener, public school teacher (Special
Education and Spanish), public school assistant principal and now principal.

7.WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST WRITING ACHIEVEMENT?

The most exciting? My first publishing
contract! What makes me proudest? The reaction that Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude has received.

8.WHAT ARE YOU WORKING
ON AT THE MOMENT?

Right now I am almost done the first
draft of my fourth novel, am working on my fifth novel, have a draft of a
journal for pre-teens and teens, and am working on a follow-up to Of Grief, Garlic and Gratitude.

9.WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

My husband and children, and the love
that our Sam inspired and gave to everyone he knew.

10.WHAT GENRE DO YOU
WRITE?

Contemporary romance novels, non-fiction
self-help, and memoirs.

11.DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR NEW WRITERS?

Hire a professional editor! You may have
incredible family and friends, some with college degrees in writing or English,
but they can’t be brutal enough if they love you. Hire someone who will be
absolutely ruthless in helping you be the best writer you can be.

12.DO YOU SUFFER FROM
WRITER’S BLOCK?

Never! Sometimes the words come slowly,
sometimes they pour out, but when I do get “stuck” I start at the beginning of
a work in progress, and start editing it, and within minutes, I am writing
madly again.

13.DO YOU HAVE A
PREFERRED WRITING SCHEDULE?

Any time, any place. As long as I have a
laptop, tablet or smart phone, I can write. I do all first drafts in google
docs, so as long as I have internet, I am good to go.

For editing, I do print out a hard copy,
put it in a binder, and go at it with a brightly colored pen.

14.DO YOU HAVE A
FAVOURITE WRITING PLACE?

In my chair near the woodstove, with
music in the background.

15.WHAT IS YOUR
GREATEST JOY IN WRITING?

My greatest joys in writing are that I
achieved what I set out to do in becoming a published author. The ultimate
greatest joy is when someone comes up to me, or sends me a message, and says
that one of my books has touched them, and has mattered to them. What more
could I ask for?

16.WHO IS YOUR
FAVOURITE AUTHOR AND WHY?

For fiction, Janet Evanovich.

17.WHAT’S THE GREATEST
COMPLIMENT YOU EVER RECEIVED FROM A READER?

A reader recently compared my book on
grief to one by C.S.Lewis, and I was so thrilled. The second biggest compliment
was when a reader posted online that I was her favourite author, and told her
friends to read my novels.

18.WHAT WAS THE WORST
COMMENT FROM A READER?

A reader once wrote a review saying that
the formatting of one of my novels (in e-book) was done poorly – the formatting
was done properly, and it bothered me that the review wasn’t about my writing
at all.

19.WRITERS ARE
SOMETIMES INFLUENCED BY THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THEIR OWN LIVES. ARE YOU?

Absolutely! Alpacas show up in my novels,
most of my fiction takes place in New England, where I live, and I like to
mention local places. My non-fiction is completely related to my own grief
journey.

20.OTHER THAN WRITING,
WHAT ELSE DO YOU LOVE?

My family, my vegetable gardens,
spinning, knitting, being in nature.

21.DID YOU HAVE YOUR
BOOK / BOOKS PROFESSIONALLY EDITED BEFORE PUBLICATION?

I did! I used professional editors prior
to submitting them for the final round of submissions, and then worked with the
editors and proofreaders of my publishers prior to the final, final version
that was published. I can’t stress enough how important I think it is to have a
professional editor look at your work!

22.DESCRIBE YOUR
PERFECT DAY.

My perfect day is getting up, having
coffee with my husband by the woodstove or on the porch in the summer. Then we
would work together in the gardens or on our land, then while he worked on his
projects, I would write. Dinner would be with our children, talking about the
day. Then after dinner, more time to write, edit or read, then time to watch
the Boston Red Sox together.

23.IF YOU WERE STUCK ON
A DESERT ISLAND WITH ONE PERSON, WHO WOULD IT BE? WHY?

My husband!

24.WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO SPEAK TO WORLD LEADERS?

That as a whole, humans need to focus
more on compassion and empathy, and on mental health needs.

25.WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS
FOR THE FUTURE?

I plan to continue writing both fiction
and non-fiction, and broaden my speaking engagements. I would love to reach a
point where I am doing some teaching of pre-service teachers and school
administrators at the college level, and writing the rest of the time.

26.WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON BOOK TRAILERS? DO THEY SELL BOOKS?

I haven’t tried doing a book trailers
yet, so I don’t have an opinion on this.

27.DO YOU SEE YOURSELF
IN ANY OF YOUR CHARACTERS?

I do see some of me in my characters.
Usually it is in their favourite foods or in their hobbies.

28.DOES THE PUBLISHING
INDUSTRY FRUSTRATE YOU?

I have found moments of frustration with
the publishing industry when I have held misconceptions about the process or
the industry. For me, that frustration has been alleviated by doing research,
asking clarifying questions, and talking to other published authors.

29.DID YOU EVER THINK
OF QUITTING?

Never! I worked too hard to get my first
publishing contract, and I love writing too much to stop.

30.WHAT WAS YOUR
FAVOURITE MANUSCRIPT TO WRITE? WHY?

More Than
I Can Say
was my novel favourite to write, as I really love the characters, and I wrote
it in a much shorter period of time, so it didn’t ever get stale.

31.HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE
‘SUCCESS’ AS A WRITER?

For me, it was having a publishing house offer me a
contract because it meant that they (as a company) believed in my work. Hearing
from readers that my books matter also makes me feel very successful!

32.WHAT SHOULD READERS WALK AWAY FROM YOUR BOOKS KNOWING? HOW SHOULD
THEY FEEL?

With both the fiction, and the memoir, they should walk
away with the belief that love is what truly matters, and no matter what
happened in your past, you can find joy and hope.

33.WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR BOOKS MADE INTO MOVIES? EVER WRITTEN A
SCREENPLAY?

I have not written a screenplay, but I would love to have
any of my books made into a movie.

34.HOW MUCH THOUGHT GOES INTO DESIGNING A BOOK COVER?

A lot of thought goes into designing a book cover. For my
most recent novel and my memoir, the drafts of the covers went back and forth
until they were exactly what I wanted, and I absolutely love them.

35.WHAT’S YOUR ULTIMATE DREAM?

To have my writing become my primary profession, and be
able to spend more time on our farm.

36.WRITING IS ONE
THING. WHAT ABOUT MARKETING YOU, YOUR BOOKS AND YOUR BRAND? ANY THOUGHTS?

Both publishers recommend that I have an author’s webpage
and use social media to promote my works. Overall, I like doing so, but there
are times when I feel that I “have to” do a post, or tweet, etc. That can get
old fast.

37.ARE YOUR BOOKS
SELF-PUBLISHED?

No.

38.DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN FIVE WORDS.

Dedicated, loyal, tenacious, loving, and creative.

39.WHAT PISSES YOU OFF MOST?

When people come up and say, “Oh, I was going to write a
book,” like it is the easiest thing in the world. I encourage anyone to write
if they want to, but don’t diminish the accomplishments of others!

40.WHAT IS THE TITLE OF THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? GOOD ONE?

The Quiet Warrior, by Tom
Dutta. It was the second time I read it, and I greatly recommend it!

41.WHAT WOULD BE THE VERY LAST
SENTENCE YOU’D WRITE?

In the end, how well she loved was all that mattered.

42.WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU HAPPIER
THAN YOU ARE NOW? CARE TO SHARE?

Having lost an adult child, the thing that would make me
happiest is to have him come walking through the front door, looking for his
favorite meal. But since I know that can’t happen, what would make me happier
than I am now would be us to have more time to spend with our children and
grandchildren, for my husband and I to have more time to work on our land, and
more time for writing.

43.ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE
TO ADD?

Being a published author doesn’t happen overnight. You can
try, try, try, and you will (probably) get rejected a lot. But if you keep
trying, get the infrastructure in place, and believe in your work, it will
happen.